Julia Burnell: Student, Friend, Injured D1 Athlete
By: Kayla Nadot
Hobbling over to the bleachers, Julia Burnell walked across the soccer field with her injured leg dragging behind. Dressed in a Duke University bright blue hoodie and athletic shorts, her brace stuck out like a sore thumb as obvious as ever. This wasn’t the first time I’d seen her in a brace of this sorts, and it wouldn’t be the last either. Julia Burnell is a 17 year old at Garnet Valley high school who isn’t your average student athlete, she has worked tirelessly to earn her soccer scholarship to Duke University.
Julia first manifested the love of soccer when she was two years old. She began playing in a recreational league just for fun during elementary school and eventually moved up to a more competitive travel soccer league.
One of her coaches has recommended that she try out for the West Chester Soccer Club and when she did she did not make the elite team and settled for a spot on the second highest level team. This tryout and season motivated Julia to work harder than she ever had before to earn a spot on the elite team the following year, a goal she accomplished.
“Julia is one of the hardest working athletes I’ve come across and is extremely motivated and dedicated to the sport,” says one of her coaches, Coach Craig.
After continuing to improve her skills, Julia was offered a spot on the US National Junior team and given the opportunity to represent her country in a variety of soccer tournaments.
“Often times I would spend a week of each month traveling to California practicing and competing for the U.S National Team, it was definitely my coolest and most memorable experience as a soccer player,” Julia says. Playing on the National team has exposed Julia to soccer players from all over the world, and a variety of scouts from prestigious universities.
After catching the eye of Duke University, Penn State, and other coaches, Julia made the decision to attend Duke University as the class of 2023 and become a blue devil! This decision and opportunity is the goal for many high school athletes but is hard to obtain.
With the chance to play for a D1 college, Julia was faced with obstacles, some that she is still currently dealing with but willing to face head-on. Julia has torn her ACL not once, but twice which has set her back in her soccer playing career.
“It was one of the scariest moments of my life, and I had to deal with that moment twice! I’m currently scheduled for my second surgery in a month or so but to know that I have the same great support system I had the first time is motivating me to get through it,” says Julia about tearing her ACL and her second surgery.
Overall, Julia like any other student at Garnet Valley is working hard on her grades and maintaining a social life, just with the added pressure of being a D1 soccer commit and working hard to maintain her scholarship.
Julia Burnell (left) and two of her future teammates at Duke University
picture credit to Julia Hannon - fellow teammate